The Five Simple Steps to Getting Your Cycling Mojo Back

Not getting results and losing direction in your cycle training? You’re getting out on the bike and riding hard, but you don’t seem to be improving.

It’s frustrating. You want to get fitter, climb hills faster, but it’s getting you down and you’re losing motivation. It’s simple to resolve with only a few tweaks to what you are currently doing and some focused goal setting.

It’s time to take control and get your mojo back. Here are five steps to help you break out of the rut and renew your cycle training passion.

Step 1

Establish some short and long term goals. Having goals is critical. It’s much easier to stay motivated if you have a goal that you are working towards. Goals provide purpose to your training. They help you keep motivated to wake up on cold or wet morning and complete that day’s training session. Your goal may be a recreational ride that you have always wanted to do or a big race that is coming up on the racing calendar. Once you have these established, you need to break these big goals down into smaller goals. We put these into our seasonal planner. You can download your copy of this template by clicking on the button below.

Step 2

Now that you have your big goal set it’s time to work back from there to where you are now. In this step you start working out some high level weekly kms or time on the bike targets. Start off with a week that is similar in volume to what you are doing at the moment. Then plan out a build in volume; week on week, leading up to your goal event. We recommend cycling through three week build, followed by a weeks recovery, then repeat. The intent is to complete this high level plan first before you move onto the next step. Make sure that you take into account family, holiday and work commitments into your plan as these will that will impact on your ability to meet your weekly targets.

Step 3

Take these weekly targets and break them down again into daily training rides that are achievable and fit around your busy schedule. The most important thing with this plan is to base it on achievable and sensible goals.

Include hard and easy days and at least one rest day a week. Your training plan is the most powerful tool you have to keep you motivated.

Step 4

Set up a benchmark test. This could be the time it takes you to climb a hill you regularly ride or the average speed of an interval session you do on your home trainer. Strava segments are really good for this.

Start tracking your progress against your training plan and review it weekly. Fine tune it if you need to and ensure that it still continues to be achievable and fits around your busy life. If the plan is too hard then, you are only going to get despondent when you don’t meet your targets. If this is the case, cut back the program until you can achieve it.

Measure yourself against your benchmark, test fornightly to get feedback that your training is working. Success breeds success and confidence. So set yourself up to succeed by measuring it and celebrating your wins.

Step 5

Don’t be put off by setbacks. Even with the best planning and intent, setbacks do happen. Turn them around into positives and don’t let them distract you from your goal. Setbacks toughen you up and make you a better person. Understand this and move on from them with renewed energy knowing that you are on your way to greater things.

What to do next?

Take action! I urge you to start with clicking here to download your free seasonal planner template and putting your key events into it, then use that to start planning your training.

If you need help sorting your goal setting, your seasonal planner or putting together a training program then sign up into our member’s area. Once you are a member we will work with you to help establish your goals and provide you with relevant and simple to follow training program that will support them that will have you quickly seeing results. We’ll also provide you with ongoing training advice and support to ensure that you are in the best form for that next major event of yours. You’ll get your mojo back and quickly start seeing results with your training. And… Become even more awesome on the bike.